How to Get Started with and Advance Your IT Career

On this week’s Job Talk podcast, we sat down with iMPact’s VP Matt Peal and Sr. IT Recruiter Penny Spanbauer to discuss how someone can get started in the IT field and advance in your IT career.

 

 

 

There are many different types of educational courses to help gain the skills necessary:

• Online classes
• College
• Bootcamps
• Certification courses

 

Where should you start, and how to know what direction to go in:

• Determine what kind of person you are and what you enjoy doing

 

What certifications are employers looking for?

• Business side of IT, for example Project Management
• Network, infrastructure, security
• Programming and development

 

Where to start?

• Entry level certification such as A+ or help desk
• Job shadow someone who works in IT
• Look into trying out free open source software

 

How are IT resumes different from other resumes?

• Employers are looking for tools, Technologies skills, and languages you possess
• For recent grads; include coursework and projects you have worked on that are relevant to your degree
• If you have anything that can be kept in an online portfolio, include that as well

 

How to research a company before an interview as an IT candidate

• Visit the company website, LinkedIn, Glassdoor for insight
• Read reviews
• Write down notes about yourself: strengths, weaknesses, areas of improvement, how you handle conflict
• Find out about the technology stack in job description and other sites.
• Look up other IT staff in that organization on sites like LinkedIn to find out what they work on

 

Interview questions that might be asked of an IT candidate, and questions to ask the employer

• Candidate

  • Ask what types of people succeed and fail in the organization
  • What kind of training programs do they offer to help you get ramped up and acclimated?
  • What will my first 30/60/90/120 days look like

• Employers

  • Business acumen
  • Situational questions such as: How do you problem solve around for example a coding error or security issue?
  • What are your interests outside IT that make you a well-rounded individual?
  • Questions around what else you bring to the table aside from IT skills
  • What are your long-term goals in IT?

 

• Find out about the agenda prior to the interview

  • Find out who you will be talking to
  • This will help you determine what kind of research you will need to do as well as if the initial person will be with a technical or non-technical person

 

• How to advance in IT whether you’re new or experienced

  • Expand your skillset
    • Online learning, classes, job shadowing, join a user group
  • Advantages of working with a recruiter
    • Interview prep to help you feel comfortable with what to expect from the interviewer and interview
    • Help uncover different opportunities and help get your resume in front of the right person

 

Listen to all podcast episodes on your favorite podcast platforms (iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcast and iHeart Radio or on our website. Find all the links and podcast information here.

 

Before we start working with a client, we will research them, have in-depth conversations with their hiring team and visit their facilities to get to know them and what makes a candidate successful in their company culture. To connect with a recruiter and find out about our currently available opportunities in Information Technology, Accounting/Finance, Engineering and Business Administration/Process, please visit our job board to view all available job opportunities. Or, submit your resume here for consideration to connect with one of our experienced recruiters in either our Grand Rapids, Michigan or Tampa, Florida location.